Brake.



No. 699,536. Patented May 6, |902.

' H. A. KNOX.

BRAKE.

(Application led Dec. 21, 1901.l

(No Model.)

l' Stans PATENT OFFICE.

BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,536, dated May 6, 1902.

Application filed December 2l, 1901. Serial No. 86,787. (No model.)

'F0 @ZZ whom. t may concern-.-

Beit known that I, HARRY A. KNOX, a citiy zen of the United States of America, 'residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vehicle-brakes,the object of the invention being to provide a brake mechanism which is equally effective whether the vehicle is' going in one direction or another and one in which the movable member can be applied directly on the drivingaxle of a self-propelled vehicle and the stationary expansible member directly on the frame of the vehicle and adapted to be connected with actuating mechanism supported on the vehicle-body.

In the drawings forming part of this application, Figure l is a side elevation of a part of a self-propelled vehicle having my improved brake applied thereto.

in the direction of the arrow, certain parts of the device beyond the sectionline being broken away substantially on line 2a. Fig. -3 is a perspective view of the brake-operating arm.

Referring to the drawings,ct indicates a portion of the side of a self-propelled vehicle; l), the driving-axle thereof; c, a counter-shaft or the crank-shaft of a motor from which movement is transmitted to the driving-axle by a suitable chain running over the sprockets d and e or other suitable driving connection. The axle b is shown only in the conventional manner as a driving-axle. The springs f, of which there are two extending lengthwise of the vehicle under each side and from end to end thereof,constitute also the reaches of the running-gear frame, said frame comprising the said springs and a front and rear axle. The manner of connection between said springs and said axles forms no part of the present invention, but is the subject of another application for Letters Patent of the United States filed jointly by me and one AJames H. Jones on November 2l, 1901, under Serial No. 83,118.

It is sufficient for the purposes of this application to state that that end of the spring .f which is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings Fig. 2is asec` tional view taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1, looking` is provided with a cylindrically-shaped exing and a rotatory movement within certain limits in a sleeve h, which is located on a bearing t', through which the driving-axle b passes and in which said axle rotates freely, said sleeve and axle being located at right angles one to another.

As shown in Fig. 2, a sprocket-wheel e is secured to the driving-axle in proximity to the bearing t' and rotates therewith. This wheel is formed upon the periphery of a cup- 4shaped body, and aside from its capacity as a driving-sprocket for the axle bit also serves as one of the members of the brake, for it is against the inner surface of the peripheral wall of this cup-shaped body that an expani sible brake member is forced to check the speed-of the vehicle, all in the manner to be rdescribed farther on.

The shaft c is hung in a suitablehanger 7f3, l

secured in any way to the bottom of the vehicle-body a, and from this hanger or this shaft c there extends a rigid arm Zback to the driving-axle, whereby a fixed distance be tween this axle and the shaft c is maintained. This rigid arm l is preferably pivotally connected,with both the bearing fi and the hanger 7c and is made in two parts united by a right and left hand threaded sleeve m, whereby its length may be adjusted. By connecting the bearing z' to the arm or chain-strut l it is evident that the sleeve h, through which the end of the spring passes, will be maintained in a substantially horizontal position, with very little tendency to a rocking motion on the axle, and therefore the end of the spring f may play freely therein endwise and any r0- tatory tendency of the bearing would be overcome by the long bearing of the end of the spring in said sleeve and the connection with the strut Z. l

The stationary expansible member of this brake mechanism is preferably made of castiron in the form of a split ring, as shown in Fig. 1, and that part of said ring by which it is attached to the bearing t' is provided with a solid segment-shaped web fn, cast integral therewith, and there is an arm o, which extends outwardly therefrom across the bearing fi, to which it is bolted. This web, in order to stiffen this fixed end of the ring/j, ex-

IOO

tends over substantially one-quarter of the periphery of said ring from a' point close to the surface of the hub of the sprocket-wheel, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in section in Fig. 2. The opposite end of the ring l 7` has cast thereon an enlargement p ot' such f clamped to the stud r.

Itis quite obvious that by swinging the arm s back and forth the free end of the ring j will be forced away from the end thereof, which is bolted to the bearing, and as this ring is located in the cup-shaped body of the l sprocket-wheel said ring may thereby be expanded against the interior surface of the peripheral wall of said body.

rIhe arms is provided witha connecting-bar which extends to and is pivotally connected with the lower end of a'brake-lever u, pivoted at fu on the under side of the frame a, the opposite end of said lever extending upward to a. point within convenient reach of the person who is operating the vehicle.

When the brake is applied, the thrust comes directly against the bearing as a'point of resistance,* the tendency being to give the bearing a rotative movement around the axle Z). Thisv thrust is resisted by the rigidity of the strut Z and also by the long bearing which the vend of the spring has in the sleeve 7L. The 'parts have therefore ample strength to resist the strain.

The brake', of course, is equally operative in going either forward or backward, and its construction permits its application close up to the side of the bearing z', whereby the opposing strains are concentrated to the greatest possible degree.

While the preferred manner of construct` ing the split ring is that hereinbefore described, a slight modification thereof may be made, which consists in locating the web n midway between the two ends of the split ring instead of at one end thereof, whereby the action of the arml s to rotate the screwstud r will tend to separate both ends of the ring instead of forcing one end away from the other. In other words, it would vprovide two movable ends instead of one. I do not, however, regard that construction as desirable when the ring is made of such diameter as would be used for ordinary road-vehicles.

Having. thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

A rotatable axle, a cup-shaped body secured thereon, a bearing for said axle, a split ring in said body for friction'al contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall of said body, one end of said ring having a solidjveb forming part thereof,whereby it is made practically rigid, an arm between said web and said bearing for supporting said ring; a screwthreaded stud between the ends of said ring, and means for rotating said stud to force the free end of said ring away from said rigid end thereof to bring vthe ring into frietional contact with the peripheral wall of said body.

HARRY A. KNOX.

Witnesses:

A. E. SMITH, M. M. KENNEDY. 

